Silent Hill 2 art director Masahiro Ito has revealed that he almost turned down an offer to work on Konami's upcoming Silent Hill 2 remake. Given Ito's pivotal role in the creation of Silent Hill 2 and its iconic monsters, such as Pyramid Head, the news came as a complete surprise when he shared it at a recent Silent Hill 2 reveal event. According to Ito, he initially felt that there was simply “no need” to do a remake.
“At the end of 2019 or 2020, [Silent Hill 2 composer Akira] Yamaoka-san contacted me via Twitter, as it was called at the time, and asked if I would be willing to cooperate on a remake of Silent Hill 2. I felt that there was no reason to do such a thing, so my initial plan was to reject the idea.
As for why Ito ultimately came back, the art director said that he understood that Konami could move forward with the project even if he declined the offer to join the project. Ito then came to the conclusion that it was better for him to “cooperate,” as it was the best way to preserve the spirit of the original game.
“I felt that rather than let the project continue without me, it was better to cooperate and do my best to ensure that the core of what makes Silent Hill 2, Silent Hill 2, is preserved in the best way possible.”
One way Ito accomplished this was by ensuring that no “absolutely new” monsters were added to the Silent Hill 2 remake. Instead, he focused on improving creatures that didn't live up to the vision he had for them 25 years ago, whether due to time or technological constraints.
In addition to discussing the remake with Ito, GameSpot had the chance to play around three hours of the Silent Hill 2 remake during the title's Tokyo premiere. While trailers for the upcoming psychological horror game can be a bit underwhelming, we came away extremely impressed with the game's first few hours. We also got to meet Akira Yamaoka, the composer behind Silent Hill 2 and its upcoming remake, who told us more about the game's brand new soundtrack. The Silent Hill 2 remake, titled Silent Hill 2, is set to release on October 8 for PC and PlayStation 5.